UCD School of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering

Transport Materials

Risk assessment on the effects of recycled asphalt on water quality

The reuse of Reclaimed Asphalt pavement (RA) saves on natural resources and reduces the impact of road construction on the environment. However the presence of hazardous substances in older asphalt pavements is an important factor to take into account in the use of RA. Studies in Sweden have shown that at least 10% of the yearly handled RA is contaminated, with higher figures seen in urban areas. It can be expected that these figures are fairly representative for Western Europe , but may be higher in Eastern Europe where the use of tar has been ongoing into the 90´s. This project will identify, develop and evaluate models for estimation of the concentrations of hazardous substances arising from the use of RA and its subsequent effect on groundwater systems.

Client: European Commission Re-Road Project

Contact: ciaran.mcnally@ucd.ie

Development of cold-mix pavement materials

Although cold-mix materials such as stabilised wet mix and Foamix are now widely used for roads with low traffic volumes, performance assessment of these materials remains problematic. The lack of quality control parameters that the industry can have confidence in is a continued source of conflict between contractors and local authorities. This project will develop a testing protocol whereby a testing and assessment regime more in line with current industry practice will be developed. This testing programme will be tied in with other performance tests and a novel surface wave method will be developed for field assessment of cold-mix materials.

Client: National Roads Authority Fellowship Programme

Contact: amanda.gibney@ucd.ie, ciaran.mcnally@ucd.ie

Reliability analysis of concrete bridges subject to chloride induced corrosion

This project will address the application of reliability theory to the field of bridge maintenance, focussing in particular on bridge deterioration due to chloride induced corrosion. Previous attempts to address this question have used basic deterioration models; this research will apply a higher level approach to the problem, introducing parameters from the fields of corrosion science and concrete technology to current statistical research into the problem of bridge loading.

Client: Science Foundation Ireland Research Frontiers Programme

Contact: ciaran.mcnally@ucd.ie